Team India made a wonderful start at the Asian Games 2018 by winning all three kabaddi matches on Day 1. The third match was played between Team India and Bangladesh at the Garuda Sports Complex in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The score at the end of the match was 43-28, with India winning. The match kicked off with Sri Lanka taking the lead at the beginning. They took the lead for the first five minutes of the match but eventually lost the game completely in the end.

The Sri Lankan defense was pretty good with their game but their raiding side was a letdown. The Indian team showed an all-round game which made it easy for them to win. Overall, it was an effortless win for Team India.

Here are the top 5 talking points from the India vs Sri Lanka clash:

#1 Sri Lanka took the lead at the beginning of the match

Team Indian is poised to win another gold at the Asiad

Sri Lanka gradually lost their lead, which made it easier for Team India to win. Kabaddi is a 40-minute long game and taking a lead at the beginning, and that too against the Men in Blue, is not promising.The Sri Lankan team took the lead over the hot favourites, India for five minutes only to eventually succumb to a defeat.

#2 Huge score difference at the end of the first half

As the first half ended, India managed to take a comfortable lead over Sri Lanka with the score being 27-13. It was rather expected from the Indian players.

The defense played an important role in taking the lead. The Sri Lankan team also had to face an all-out in the first half. Ajay Thakur and Monu Goyat did a commendable job throughout the match.

#3 Pardeep Narwal was kept out of the court by the Sri Lankan defense

Even though Team India clinched the victory with a big margin, Pardeep Narwal was kept out of the court for a considerable amount of time. They performed chain tackles, ankle holds and thigh holds on him. It looked like the Sri Lankans were prepared for Pardeep Narwal beforehand.

In the last half of India vs Bangladesh, Pardeep was the best raider unlike the one against Sri Lanka. They did not let him perform any tricks on the mat.

#4 Rocking performance by the Indian defense

The Indian defense in their last match against Bangladesh was a letdown. However, to cover up their mistake, they did a brilliant job in the match against Sri Lanka.

Be it the fierce ankle-holds of Girish Ernak, sharp blocks of Sandeep Narwal, or the intense dashes of Mohit Chillar, we witnessed it all. They did a wonderful job of keeping the Sri Lankan raiders out of the mat.

#5 The tale of colossal super tackles by Sri Lanka

The defense of Sri Lanka was in lethal form. They performed three super tackles on substantial players like Ajay Thakur and Rohit Kumar and that too, for the third time in a row. Not just super tackles, we also witnessed them performing chain tackles, double ankle-holds and what not!

Sri Lanka has a great defensive unit with just three defenders. Throughout the match, they scored five super tackles, which is indeed a feat for the team.

Shreya Shreeja is a 16 years-old sports buff and an ardent Kabaddi fan. She loves expressing her thoughts and ideas here on this platform.
Other than writing, this young sports analyst loves cooking and is also a self-taught artist.
A huge bookworm that she is, Shreya can be found with her head immersed in a book during her free time. She also likes watching cricket.